Nikon Shooters - Would you switch to another brand (or have you?)

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Would you or have you switched from Nikon?

  • I have already switched to another brand

    Votes: 13 4.9%
  • I am on the verge of switching

    Votes: 7 2.6%
  • I'm open to switching

    Votes: 54 20.2%
  • I probably won't switch

    Votes: 123 46.1%
  • I will never leave Nikon

    Votes: 44 16.5%
  • I'm shooting Nikon and another system

    Votes: 26 9.7%

  • Total voters
    267
Would not switch, therefore staying with Nikon. But, to me, switching implies a total changeover from Nikon to another manufacturer. I'm too invested in Nikon Z bodies (Z7 and Z6ii) and lenses for landscape shooting to switch especially since the Nikon Z zoom lenses I use for landscapes (14-30 f/4, 24-70 f/28, and soon the 70-200 f/2.8) in those lengths arguably might be the best of any manufacturer available--therefore, no incentive whatsoever to change to another system for landscapes.
But, I would consider a different mirrorless brand, most likely Sony A1, for bird photography, but only if the Z9 doesn't measure up--and to be clear, the Z9 doesn't need stomp or even be equal to the Sony a1's performance, I would settle for the Z9 to initially come close to it (and to be much, much better than the Z7 or Z6 versions) especially for fps and tracking BIF. Given the stellar Z lens releases so far, I'm hoping (make that expecting) the 100-400 and 200-600 Z versions to be better than their equivalent Sony E-mount versions, so when paired with the Z9, would be killer combinations... I also would be able to use my 300 and 500 PF's (and FTZ, of course) on the Z9, two lenses which Sony has no answer for. So, I guess the Z9 would really have to fail miserably for me to think about another camera system. But, if the worse does happen, it's a possibility--but only for birding.
 
Like many here, I have been shooting Nikon for a long time. I have used Sony and Canon as well, but the Nikon's just seem to fit my hand and I can get done what I need to without fighting new menus control layout I would love it if the Nikon's had the animal eye tracking that the Sony and Canon currently boast, but to paraphrase Steve, the limitations of my camera are 3 to 4 inches behind the view finder!
Interesting poll and thread.

Karl
 
I'm not likely to switch from Nikon, except for one caveat: I used to carry a Nikon V3 as my 'walking around but don't want to be encumbered' camera (and loved the 75-300) and I've now switched for that role to an Olympus OM-D E1III. The Olympus, especially lenses, is shockingly tiny and light and the image quality is great. But I print a lot and I really need full frame for 16x20s, so the Nikons come out for everything else.

I did sample Sonys, the A6500 and A7riii to be precise, for the 'smaller, lighter' role and discovered that they were fundamentally no more compact and light than Nikon once equivalent lenses were taken into account. I sold the Sonys.

So I finally ended up back at Nikon for the same reason I started there: if I need something to solve a photographic problem it's odds on that Nikon has it. That's true of Canon as well and no other vendor. I suppose I could be a contented Canon user if I'd started out there (I have many friends who are). The size and depth of Nikon and Canon's offerings, including a vast trove of relatively inexpensive used gear, is simply unrivaled by the others.

It's hard to think of a development now which could cause me to switch vendors. In my opinion camera bodies from all major vendors are identically capable to at least the 95% level if not higher. They all get excellent exposures and focus more than adequately for almost all situations. We would have thought we'd gone to heaven with those capabilities even five years ago. Frame rates, buffer depths, and AI-based AF now are crumbs around the edges, in my opinion, and I think searching for new camera bodies is a mostly dry hole.

We don't spend enough time looking at optics though, in my opinion. Big increases in lens capabilities are interesting, and things like the the stellar quality of the Z lenses caught my attention (I'm hearing interesting rumors from the Canon camp here as well). The Z lenses I've used on the Z7 are remarkable and the FTZ has made it easier to integrate the Z into my existing Nikon world. The Nikon PF telephotos are semi-revolutionary as well - size, weight, and image quality at (semi) reasonable prices.

So for the foreseeable future I'll be using Nikon (and a little Olympus).
 
No plans to leave Nikon but after seeing the results my friend Hector Astorga is getting with Sony, I would be sorely tempted if I could afford it.
 
Thank you everyone for your responses! I get questions about switching multiple times a day and when that happens it feels like the world is leaving Nikon. It's good to see the vast majority are happy with Nikon (at least, more or less).

I hope Nikon does not squander its position with this group of Nikon shooters (and others like them).

It’s also interesting to me that there are small things that Nikon could do that would be very much appreciated by Nikon mirrorless users. For example, I expect a simple firmware change that would allow Z bodies to be customized so that a user could change focus areas with a single button press would be very much appreciated by Z body users who shoot sports, wildlife or other action. (My other most wished for change, beyond continuing improvements to autofocus — allowing a continuous view in the EVF at extended high frame rates — may not be something that can be done with a mere firmware update. I wonder if data does not come off the current Z sensors fast enough to allow that, even with the second Expeed chip.)
 
I hope Nikon does not squander its position with this group of Nikon shooters (and others like them).

It’s also interesting to me that there are small things that Nikon could do that would be very much appreciated by Nikon mirrorless users. For example, I expect a simple firmware change that would allow Z bodies to be customized so that a user could change focus areas with a single button press would be very much appreciated by Z body users who shoot sports, wildlife or other action. (My other most wished for change, beyond continuing improvements to autofocus — allowing a continuous view in the EVF at extended high frame rates — may not be something that can be done with a mere firmware update. I wonder if data does not come off the current Z sensors fast enough to allow that, even with the second Expeed chip.)

It's reassuring though to see how many are sticking around and not swapping anytime soon, or at all.
 
Chose “probably won’t change” only because of never say never. For me the choice also is mirrorless “probably won’t change”. As I’ve said in a previous post to invested in Nikon. Between myself and my wife; 5 dslr’s, 12 lenses 14-24 to 600f4. To make a total change to mirrorless is way to expensive. Bodies only possible if the performance of the FTZ adapter is improved. For me it’s really about getting out and enjoying your subject through the lens. Enjoying the moment, the strange behavior of your subject. Sometimes just stop shooting, pull up a stump and enjoy. Ah the memories and the friends that you meet.
 
Well I've been shooting a D500 with the 200-500 and the 300PF. I spend an extensive amount of time photographing peregrines in flight with busy backgrounds. I rented a Sony A9II and the 200-600 and was WOW'd by the autofocus speed and how "sticky" it is when it grabs onto the target. HOWEVER... It can often grab onto that busy background instead of the bird and then you can forget that sequence of shots...just won't let go of those trees and branches. I don't think I'll ever get rid of my D500 as I seem to do well with it in those busy background situations. So rather than switch to mirrorless I think I'll just save some $$ over the next year and add mirrorless to my kit. It will also give me time to decide whether the future Nikon mirrorless is up to par with the competitors. If not I will probably add the A9II and 200-600...it does have some plus's over the D500 in other situations that I shoot. Oh...I just traded in my 200-500 for the 500PF...fast acquisition just got better!
Tom
 
I voted for the "already switched" option. However I still own a D500, Z50, 500PF and all 3 TCs. But I rarely use the Nikon gear anymore. I switch a lot so I'm not representative of most. Started photography seriously in 2010. Solely a Canon shooter up until 2016 where I added a D500/200-500 to my very extensive Canon kit (multiple supertelephoto lenses, 1 series, 5 series, 7 series bodies). Slowly transitioned to be a Nikon shooter most of the time with a D500/D850/300PF/500PF/500E kit. My Nikon days lasted a couple years and it is a testimony to how good that gear was when I started selling off flagship Canon gear because I wasn't using it. But in May 2018 I added a Sony A9/100-400 to my Nikon/Canon kit. Sony rode the sidelines of my kit because of the lens selection at the time. I was mostly using Nikon and Sony with some Canon left. When the 200-600 arrived, my Canon days were over and my Nikon days started to dwindle. Now I shoot Sony 99% of the time. Of course I couldn't resist the R5 last year and had that till the A1 came out which matched everything the R5 could do and surpassed it in a number of other ways. R5 kit was gone to pay for the A1. My few Nikon items are sort of waiting around for a potential Z9...we shall see.....

I like trying out new gear and I mostly pay for new stuff by selling old stuff. Haven't spent a new dime on photo gear for many years and yet I've still been able to jump systems and try the latest and greatest.
 
As of Tuesday I will become a mixed gear person. My A9II arrives with a 200-600 lens. No doubt in my mind that the camera will suit. 200-600 may be too heavy for me in which case I'll return it and get the 100 to 400. I've been struggling with BIF with the Z7II and it is just too frustrating. But that said, for everything else it is awesome with the 300 and 500 PF. I'm pretty married to those two lenses so will probably stay with Nikon for that reason, hoping the Z9 will be all it is hyped to be, though that's hard to imagine shooting BIF with the Z7II. If the Z9 is as great as it's supposed to be, I'll sell
the Sony gear, buy the Z9 and be a very happy person. It gets more questionable if the Z9 doesn't work for me. Then I will probably keep my D500, 300 PF for walk around, sell the Z7II and invest in the Sony A1. Time will tell and I am hoping against hope the Z9 will be just wonderful. I am just pretty annoyed with Nikon Z cameras right now. :)
 
25 years of using mostly Nikon equipment but also Fuji X-T2 and 3 (my wife's primary camera until she switched to a Z7 II recently). I'm unlikely to switch. Even if Nikon doesn't keep producing great gear (and the Z mount lenses are great!), what I have is more than adequate for my photography skills so I'd almost certainly keep it until it breaks..

If Nikon wants me to keep buying new and better equipment, they need to keep making great lenses, but mostly they need to improve the overall workflow. It's ridiculously difficult to get an image off a camera in the field and share it with others, via mail or social media. Snapbridge is still flaky, and even when it works it is a multi-step process - turn it on, wait for camera and phone to connect, select image, transfer to phone, to into the photos app, forward to social media, add message...Why not be able to do that in camera, or with a permanent and reliable connection to a phone so it's much easier?

it is that blind spot that might eventually get me to switch from Nikon to a smaller, lighter, convenience camera for 90% of my photography, and relegate the Nikon equipment to a few occasions per year. In which case I'd stop investing in more and better gear.
 
I have too much money tied up in Nikon lenses to switch. I have two D850 bodies and hope they last me 5 years or so. I went from Vivitar to Minolta to Nikon. If I go mirrorless, I would still stay with Nikon hoping to still use my F glass with an adapter. Being retired, the cash flow does not support major purchases anymore. Switching to another brand may be cost prohibitive for me. If that plan does not work, I may eventually be priced out of the hobby.
 
There is more to one's story to make this easy for some and difficult for others. If I were a professional, earning my living with my equipment; I may be influenced by specific technology that could quantifiably influence my choices. Therefore brand loyalty or emotional ties are not important. Some said already that changing brands will not improve our skills--not mine at least. For me; I know Nikon having returned to photography with the D70S. Nikon doesn't have to be the best in everything or anything for me. The quality of their bodies and glass is good enough for me. I see no reason, at this time, to change up to another manufacturer. I know Nikon. I trust Nikon. And I am comfortable with Nikon.
 
I've always been a Nikon shooter, currently shooting a D5, D500 and primarily a Nikon 600/f4 for wildlife. However, after being more than disappointed with the D6 I purchased a Sony A9ii and the 200-600mm lens expecting to give them a try and see how I felt about the Sony gear. That was about a year ago and what I've found myself doing during that year is picking up the Sony much more than the Nikon gear. More recently purchasing the Sony A1.
Nikon produces quality images and I can't bad mouth any of my Nikon gear but after shooting Sony mirrorless I just find myself enjoying shooting more than before. In my opinion Nikon has yet to come out with a mirrorless needed for doing wildlife shooting primarily BIF shooting. So given that, I'm now struggling with whether I should sell the Nikon gear and go totally with Sony, a difficult choice for me still so I still have both systems. Not sure what Nikon will produce with its upcoming Z9, I'm sure it will address what us wildlife shooting want and need but I'm not sure I want to wait that long.
The Sony A1 and A9ii AF is incredible and the flexibility of customizing the camera is a huge plus. I don't have the Sony 600/f4 quite yet, but the 200-600mm lens is superb lens and for $2K, it's a unbeatable.
I'm not a professional, my photography is a hobby so I don't have to justify my purchases so that part of the decision isn't an issue.
 
The way i see it Sony's top management realised the value of computational photography & related hardware to get better results.They started early & built a robust software & hardware (well coordinated) team with clear goals & A1 was the result of it.In the bargain Sony engineers now have tons of knowledge,quality proceeses, software & hardware that works.Now they can use that to bring out many products in various price fronts & increase market share
Canon saw what Sony was doing & tried a similar attempt & succeeded only partly(over heating of R5).How ever things seem to be changing in Canon & they may slowly catch up with Sony
Nikon believed in own strength of DSLR's domain & did not innovate with sofware or hardware in mirrorless & started with Z with lame hardware specs(though they tried to change hardware in Z ii versions).The result is they are still struggling to even bring out a camea with D 500/850 capabilties & now aiming for a Z9 to be at par with A1 capabilities.They have still not announced a mirrorless version of D 500 or 850
I am mainly a Nikon wild life/bird shooter (D 500 & 850 with 500 PF) though i have a bridge camear from Sony (Rx 10 Iv) for video.The AF of the sony camera is outstanding & was not surprised when Sony produced A 9 ii & A1
Having used 500 PF my purchasing decisions are based on lens weight (specially primes) & i am open to go with a vendor who will let me use 500 PF type of lens.The only reason i am not buying A1 is that Sony has no answer to 500 PF
I do sincerly hope that Nikon brings out a D 500/850 vesrion of a mirroorless camera soon
 
I come from a different background than a lot of the other posters here so maybe my experience provides a useful (?) perspective.

My girlfriend and I started shooting wildlife recently. Like, really recently - last summer. Prior to that she had a Fuji camera for general travel photography and I had a mixture of Fuji / Nikon gear; a D600, 85 F1.4 AFD, 35 F2, etc. I work as a designer / artist and having a DSLR was mostly a necessity for documenting work and providing studio assets in a pinch.

We picked up a 200-500 on a whim and gave it a shot during the COVID lockdown madness since we live in BC near a ton of great parks. By the end of the summer we accumulated a bunch of used gear since it was such a blast: a Z7, D500, 500PF, and a deeply discounted 300 F2.8 VRI. We ended up returning the 200-500 after picking up the 500PF for what I hope are obvious reasons, and I ended up selling the 300 F2.8 after being endlessly annoyed with how it performed with the FTZ adapter.

Knowing what we know now there's a chance we would have gone down the Sony road and picked up a used A9 / II and 200-600, since that seems to be the sweet spot for tracking, IQ, and reach. Neither of us have any emotional investment in any camera brand and we've been pretty judicious about our spending and negotiating used equipment deals, so I feel like we wouldn't take much of a hit to switch over even today.

The 500 PF is keeping us married to Nikon. We bike and transit to most of the parks around us. Having to lug around a big piece of glass in a (large) backpack for that long isn't fun, while the PF is so small and light that it isn't even a consideration anymore. I think it goes to show how sometimes a single piece of equipment can justify a whole system.
 
I have been a Nikon shooter for 20 years+. I currently own a good deal of high end Nikon bodies and lenses. (I own too much quality gear that I don't use very often!) For me there are two questions to ask, if or when to go completely mirrorless and then, do I stick with Nikon. I have got a Z series body and see the potential. I love the new S lenses but would not consider going Nikon mirrorless and relying on the FTZ adaptor.
For these reasons, I can see myself coming to a point where I sell everything to finance a change. However, I cannot see this being for some time yet and I am happy with what I have. If I do change I would love it to be Nikon and that is why I am being patient. If I was to change brand, it would almost certainly be Sony. If I was starting today, with no kit, it would be Sony.
 
I'm solidly in the Nikon camp. I have already made the big change - to primarily mirrorless. What I photograph - landscapes, equestrian, golf, large dogs/agility, woodland birds, etc. - includes a large number of subjects that current Nikon mirrorless cameras handle very well, so there are no major gaps. I have a very good kit of Nikon lenses that I like, and constantly weed out the weak lenses. I'm actually in a pretty good position in that I have most of the lenses I need in the Z system, and can easily upgrade a body as technology evolves.

The survey results actually are very consistent across photo groups I see. Nikon and Canon continue to be the primary camera system for more than 80% of photographers - and they are split evenly. Sony has just 8-9% share across each group compared to more than 40% for Nikon and Canon. Most of those Nikon and Canon photographers have not moved to mirrorless yet, or have just sampled mirrorless. While they may buy based on a new feature, they are not on the leading edge of photo gear. If Nikon retains 80% of it's base, and picks up 1/3 of new enthusiasts or those switching from other brands, it has a very solid 38+% market share in the enthusiast and pro markets five years from now.
 
Reading these posts it seems like many of us on this forum are in our retirement years and have been shooting for 40 years. It makes me wonder if there is a new generation of photographers coming along.
I’m sure that there will some of the younger generations that will will continue on with serious/professional photography. But I feel that the overall decline in camera sales is due primarily to the lack of interest of the younger generations in photography. There is this device called a cell phone that meets their needs.
 
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